Anime NYC 2023 featured a panel discussion including voice actors Kana Ichinose (who plays Suletta Mercury) and Lynn (who plays Miorine Rembran) on Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury. Press representatives were provided with additional information through a combined email interview.
What the stars loved best about the series was one of the first questions posed to the panel. Ichinose retorted, “I think the series has a lot of positive aspects, but if I had to choose one, it would be the relationships among all the characters. Every character is connected to every other character in some way.” She highlighted the series’ many tense interactions between parents and kids, and Lynn added that the program also explores relationships between siblings, friends, and other people. “The fact they all come together is a really strong message of the series,” Lynn stated.
In the email interview, a number of the questions addressed related topics. When questioned about the “main appeal points” of the series for viewers who haven’t seen it yet, Ichinose reiterated the importance of parent-child connections; Lynn also mentioned the school setting as a way to draw in viewers who aren’t already fans of Gundam. ANN particularly asked who is the more “difficult” parent between Delling and Prospera in order to get information about their parent-child relationships. Lynn elaborated, saying, “It’s a hard question because neither character can be viewed simply as just ‘difficult.'” Both actresses called the issue “hard” to answer. Later on, we learn that Delling is a kind person and that Prospera was imprisoned by her gloomy, warped love for Ericht and Suletta.”
When Ichinose and Lynn first learned they had been cast in The Witch from Mercury, they both had a hard time believing it. Ichinose stated on the panel that her initial thought was “literally ‘WHAT?'” and that she thought it was a dream until she looked at the call logs because she had fallen asleep following the phone call. Lynn, a lifelong fan of Gundam, was even more thrilled to receive the casting news on her birthday. Ichinose revealed she experienced “tremendous pressure when I received the call that I passed the audition” when speaking with the media about this subject. Ultimately, Gundam is a well-known anime series in Japan and a major release. But I tried to reset and enjoy the Witch from Mercury recordings since I knew that if I was focused on feeling under pressure, we wouldn’t be able to produce a good final result. After a while, I was able to naturally enjoy it.”
Midway through the session, producer Takuya Okamoto arrived as a special guest and discussed the process of trying to create a Gundam series that was unlike any other series. He also discussed how much the plot had altered from the series’ initial 2020 concept to its conclusion. A selection of scenes from Ichinose’s and Lynn’s preferred episodes, 21 and 24, were shown. Okamoto talked about how these sequences’ character development, music, and voice acting had impressed him.
“I was first surprised thinking, ‘The first female protagonist…?’ but even in the first Mobile Suit Gundam women were piloting Mobile Suits and fighting on the battlefield, so nowadays it would not have been surprising to see a woman as the main character of a Gundam series,” Ichinose wrote in an email in reference to one significant distinction between Witch From Mercury and other Gundam series. All the same, I am truly appreciative of the chance to sing Suletta Mercury.”
Ichinose and Lynn admitted in the email interviews that they had very little prior knowledge of the characters and plot of the program when it was being produced. Ichinose said, “I was able to play Suletta while experiencing the same emotions she did.” “The main character’s Mobile Suit, Gundam Aerial, being the final boss, was one of the scenes that surprised me.” After learning more about her persona, Lynn “was able to predict a few things about Aerial’s secrets,” but she was still taken aback by the showdown at the end.
While Lynn prefers the Mobile Suit Gundam Seed series and Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Ichinose stated that her favorite Gundam anime is the original Mobile Suit Gundam, which was the first Gundam series she watched (“It got me thinking that as long as there are humans, conflict will never disappear and there is no correct answer”). When asked which characters (aside from their own) they preferred and what they would like to see more of, the voice actors gave similar, albeit intriguingly different answers: Ichinose’s favorite is the fourth Elan, and she wants to see more of Shaddiq’s past, while Lynn’s favorite is Shaddiq. She wished for more time spent with the Elans (she also wishes for additional media to investigate Miorine’s early years and the three-year time jump in the last episode).
Ichinose stated that she had a personal connection to Suletta because of her “surprisingly stubborn personality” and “a very shy side as well.” “A very hard character to voice,” according to Lynn, who also went on to explain how she could relate to the character: “I believe that Miorine’s cold personality is a front for her true nature of wanting to be loved.” She eventually confides in Suletta and is able to communicate her actual emotions. I understand how you feel.
All in all, it appears that it has been an amazing experience to voice Witch From Mercury’s main characters. Ichinose called seeing all the fans at Anime NYC a “precious memory” as the session came to an end, while Lynn said that the fans enjoyed the show “just as much as we do.” Ichinose responded to an email asking about his favorite part of portraying Suletta by saying, “The year I spent as Witch from Mercury’s Suletta was incredibly intense and fulfilling.” As a result, I would say that every second was incredibly delightful.”
